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"You want something to drink?"

Eiko eyes you at the oddly polite gesture, but concedes, too tired to try and argue, "Nothing alcoholic right now. I need to think. There's a teapot in the cabinet to the right of the microwave."

After taking your boots off, you turn towards the kitchen. It's of the times, the cabinets painted over in white, a chipped gas stove, and vaguely stone counters. There's no oil splashes anywhere on the stove or bottom of the microwave. You figure Eiko is either a meticulous cleaner or she rarely cooks.

You open both cabinets above the microwave. There's a few tea boxes and spices but the top racks look empty. A beaten up metal teapot sits on the bottom rack, so you grab it. Behind it is a nicer clay teapot with a matching set of cups. It sits neglected.




As you fill the metal teapot with water, you clear your throat, projecting your voice as Eiko moves about the space just passed your view, "So, you've got a real minimalist thing going on here."

She seems to laugh, "I don't like having too much stuff. It weighs me down."

You can relate to that. Almost too well.

The pot meets the stove and you turn the burner on. Click, click, click.

"Me too. Helps that I just travel all the time."

"Do you?" Her voice sounds amused, "I don't know what's normal for time traveling criminals."

You chuckle as you press your fingers and knee against the hinge of the bottom cabinet, softening the sound as you open it, "I travel dimensions. Not time. Time can change depending on the dimension. It could be the stone ages in one or a sci-fi movie in another."

There's a pot and a few mixing bowls in the cabinet. You slowly lift the lid and see a gun inside. You close the lid.

"How is that different? Isn't time a dimension?"

"And magic's real." You laugh lightly, "It's just what I've learned to say. I don't know much about all the science and theories, but from what I've scraped together, each dimension is just a cut layer of something bigger. Think of a diamond. Each cut is unique, even symmetrical, but it's a part of one big thing. And each cut is a world. The ultimate shape, I guess, is our universe."

You pause to let her process the information. Truth be told, you've had a few people explain it to you in more complex ways, but it all sounded too complicated to memorize. "I don't know what that shape looks like, but it must be huge. I've been to worlds so different from each other that they might as well be on opposite sides. Seen people that don't look like you or me. To top it all off, there are beings that exist outside or within multiples of those dimensions. We call them extra-dimensional. You call them gods."

You open the top drawer to test the sound it makes. It's oddly smooth, but Eiko's silence makes it sound like a bomb dropping. You see an array of neatly arrange cutlery. Some knives and chopsticks. You lift the cutlery organizer to look underneath and see an envelope taped to the hollowed bottom. You pick up a spoon.

You continue your lecture when she stays quiet, "Because of how each world is arranged, it's easy to cross over to the next one. That's how typical dimensional travel works. You find that boundary? You can cross. You might not even notice, each neighboring world is only slightly different." You wave your spoon at no one. "They reflect each other. Each boundary is different. There could be an entire solar system contained in one layer or just one endless plain."



Eiko finally speaks, "It's that easy?"

You open the next drawer just enough to get a peek. It's all plastic bags. Next one.

"It's like crossing states. But it gets harder when you're traveling cross country, you get me? That's where it's regulated. You need something special to really jump around, but you leave a signature when you do. And if you get caught doing it without permission, they'll take your ass in or kill you."

The next drawer has a bunch of snacks. You take out a few of them to put on the counter.

"Who's they? How do you move around?"

You look back at the teapot. "They're the Wolf Bites for dimensions, DB," you laugh, "criminal enterprise, cult, gang. Whatever. You're too small to worry about them."

Her tone sounds annoyed, "They're the only ones? I doubt it."

"They are. They monopolize all their competition. And I hate to say it, but they have some of the best magitech around. Since they were the first to make the most efficient travel gear across worlds, they've been keeping that title and spreading their influence. Only those within the camp can use them, so they sell their service as regulators. Most extra-dimensional beings don't care for their service. Not until people like me show up and start disrupting the natural order of their playground."

You move towards the other bigger cabinets and peek into them. Protein shakes, vitamins, plates, bowls, and more empty racks. Makes you wonder how often she eats. You take a few of the smaller plates and start to open and set the snacks on them. Like this is a tea party.

Eiko's voice is incredulous, "And you just... do that? Aren't you the reason they even need to regulate it?"



There are many reasons you could give for what you do. It's money, of course. You do all this to make money. You want to live well. Eat well. Do as you please. But you can never settle. Can't find peace with this target on your back.

So, you make money. You'll make a lot of it. You'll make so much fucking money that you can suffocate in it.

"Yeah, why not? Fuck 'em"

The teapot starts to whistle. Time's up. You hurry to tend do it, dropping oolong teabags into mismatched mugs. You wont touch the tea set. You want to keep this light.

Eiko finally walks into view to plop down onto the couch. She's changed into more comfortable clothes.

"You want some sugar or milk in these?"

She looks at you, like she's making calculations in her head, "That sounded personal." She pauses, "There's honey next to the fridge."

You nod and add all the sweets. As you move to grab the milk you open the fridge, there's soju, beer, bread, and a few tupperwares in various states of decay. You check the expiration date of the milk twice before pouring it into your mug. Last thing you need is the shits.

You set everything down on the coffee table, sprawling on the other end of the couch, "Everything becomes personal. I've been at this a long time."

Eiko snorts, picks up her mug, then hands it to you. "Take a sip."

Smart. You grin and pluck it from her hand to sip without hesitation. She takes it from you a few seconds after you swallow. Looks like you're both testing each other.

After you clear your throat you gesture, "You've been at it a long time too."



She rolls her eyes, "I couldn't exactly rush it. If you weren't here, it would take me a few more years."

You lift your mug up, "Cheers to that." You eye each other, "So, you think the Bulls will take over after we're done?"

Eiko glares but sips her tea, staring into it for a moment, "Like hell. Over my dead body that I'll let those cunts even try it."

Your eyebrows almost fly off of your face. "Really? So you'll take over? If the Wolves disband they'll take advantage of that."

There's an awkward pause. It tells you all you need to know. She hasn't thought it through passed the point of killing Julien. Maybe she thought she'd have a few more years to think about it.

"I couldn't talk to Julien directly." She avoids your eyes as she changes the subject, "It looked like he was in a meeting, but I don't know with who."

You speak without missing a beat, "Could be anyone. Could be the Bulls."

She shakes her head, "He hates them as much as I do. When I tried asking, the other wolves said that he's been making deals."

Deals? It's got to be the new Arms Dealer then. This could be your chance.

"No description? How often have they been visiting?"

She shrugs, "Very recently. Maybe this month? It's pretty hush hush. The other wolves said they don't even come in through the front door. They just appear at Julien's office whenever they want."

Traveling unimpeded? Not many criminals can get their hands on tech that good. They'd need both wings or something equivalent. And your guy is already one of the best.

She continues, "Only Julien's seen them. Their meetings last at least an hour."



No suspects come to mind except one.

You hope it's not her. She's usually too strict about consorting with criminals. That would also mean she's been camping here a while and that's not her usual style. Your Archangel likes to ambush you at a random inopportune time. Usually in a building. Usually where there's a bed.

Eiko sips more of her tea as you are momentarily lost in your drunken horny thoughts, "Tell me more about a world you've been to."

Options:
>A) DIM 2-67SS: World of Glass
>B) DIM 3-30XO: Kingdom of Nox
>C) DIM 3-30NS: The Necropolis
>D) DIM 4-50LR: Solar Circuit
>E) ______ (No DIM Tag Needed)

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